Existing law, the Moore Universal Telephone Service Act, establishes the Universal Lifeline Telephone Service program to provide low-income households with access to affordable basic residential telephone service.
Existing law establishes 6 funds in the State Treasury through which the state's universal service programs for communications are funded, including the Universal Lifeline Telephone Service Trust Administrative Committee Fund. Existing law requires the moneys in the funds to be expended only for specified purposes and only upon appropriation in the annual Budget Act or upon supplemental appropriation.
This bill would rename the Moore Universal Telephone Service Act the Moore Universal LifeLine Services Act. The bill would additionally establish the Universal LifeLine Home Internet Services Fund in the State Treasury. The bill would provide that the above-described universal service programs will be supported by a fee per telephone access line in an amount determined by the commission sufficient to support the universal service programs pursuant to the annual Budget Act. The bill would require the commission to transfer any moneys in each fund in excess of the amount appropriated for those programs in the annual Budget Act as of March 1, 2025, except for fund reserves required by law, to the Universal LifeLine Home Internet Services Fund to support home broadband internet access service for eligible households, as specified.
Existing law creates the Universal Lifeline Telephone Service Trust Administrative Committee, which is an advisory board to advise the commission regarding the development, implementation, and administration of the Universal Lifeline Telephone Service program and to carry out the Universal Lifeline Telephone Service program pursuant to the commission's direction, control, and approval. Existing law requires all revenues collected by telephone corporations in rates authorized by the commission to fund the Universal Lifeline Telephone Service program to be submitted to the commission pursuant to a schedule established by the commission. Existing law requires all moneys appropriated from the Universal Lifeline Telephone Service Trust Administrative Committee Fund to the commission to be used exclusively by the commission for the Universal Lifeline Telephone Service program.
This bill would rename the Universal Lifeline Telephone Service Trust Administrative Committee as the Universal LifeLine Home Internet Services Committee to ensure home broadband internet access service is available to the people of the state, as provided, and would provide for the composition of the committee. The bill would instead require all access line fees collected by telephone corporations and interconnected VoIP service providers to fund the Universal LifeLine Home Internet Services Program, described below, to be submitted to the commission pursuant to a schedule established by the commission, and would require moneys appropriated from the Universal LifeLine Home Internet Services Fund to the commission to be used exclusively by the commission for the Universal LifeLine Home Internet Services Program. The bill would require the commission to review the Universal LifeLine Home Internet Services Fund, on or before December 31, 3030, to review any expenditures from the Universal LifeLine Home Internet Services Fund to determine whether those expenditures were adequate and fair to all ratepayers, and report those determinations to the Legislature, as provided. The bill would authorize the commission to make recommendations to the Legislature regarding appropriations from the Universal LifeLine Home Internet Services Fund and to suspend the Universal LifeLine Home Internet Service Program upon determination by the commission that a federal program would meet specified needs and objectives.
This bill would require the commission, on or before December 31, 2026, to adopt updated rules for the LifeLine program to establish a Universal LifeLine Home Internet Services Program to provide subsidies for home internet service, as defined, and to implement the Universal LifeLine Home Internet Services Program on or before July 1, 2027. The bill would require, for purposes of providing subsidies for home internet service, the commission to take specified actions, including, among other things, providing a home internet service subsidy of $20 for each eligible household, as specified. The bill would require the commission to require all participating internet service providers to file an advice letter, as prescribed. The bill would require the commission to streamline and simplify the updated rules to the maximum extent possible, as specified. The bill would require the updated rules to maximize telephone corporation and internet service provider participation in the LifeLine program, as provided. The bill would require the commission to develop and implement an outreach program to reach all eligible households, as specified. The bill would require the commission, upon appropriation, to allocate up to $20,000,000 from the Universal LifeLine Home Internet Services Fund for public awareness through community and ethnic media channels selected through an open, competitive process, as specified.
This bill would require the commission to annually report to the Legislature and the California Broadband Council on the progress in enrolling eligible households in the LifeLine programs in comparison to the goals set by relevant socioeconomic demographic factors and by participating providers.
Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime.
Because the above-described provisions would be part of the act and a violation of a commission action implementing this bill's requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature.

Statutes affected:
SB 716: 871.5 PUC
02/21/25 - Introduced: 871.5 PUC
03/26/25 - Amended Senate: 11549.56 GOV, 11549.56 GOV, 270 PUC, 270 PUC, 277 PUC, 277 PUC, 871 PUC, 871 PUC, 871.5 PUC
04/21/25 - Amended Senate: 11549.56 GOV, 270 PUC, 277 PUC, 871 PUC